His football career didn't pan out — but Hunter Bivin is determined to guide Notre Dame's next generation

SOUTH BEND – Hunter Bivin knows how painful it can be to fall short of expectations.

As a Top-100 recruit coming out of Apollo High School in Owensboro, Ky., the former offensive lineman made just one start in his five seasons at Notre Dame. Three heart surgeries, starting with an emergency procedure his freshman year, short-circuited what had been a promising football career.

Now, at age 25, Notre Dame’s new director of player development gets a chance to tell his story nearly every day to another Fighting Irish football player struggling with the suffocating weight of unrealized potential or delayed gratification.

“I kept it quiet; I never really said anything to anybody outside of the program,” Bivin says. “I sort of wanted it that way but having to deal with that disappointment and that feeling of not living up to expectations was tough for me. It was a big point of adversity I had to learn to overcome.”

Hunter Bivin, former Notre Dame offensive lineman turned director of player development, has created the GOLD Standard to help student-athletes in their post-playing careers(Photo: Courtesy Notre Dame)

Bivin served an internship in the spring of 2018 under predecessor Ron Powlus, the former Irish quarterback and assistant coach who fell well short of Beano Cook’s infamous prediction he would win the Heisman Trophy not once but “at least” twice back in the mid-‘90s.

After a short stint at a Chicago-based financial consulting company, Bivin returned to campus after the bye week last October to work for Powlus. With a master’s degree in management, Bivin was later named as Powlus’ replacement when the latter moved into an associate athletic director’s role following four years in player development.

“Having that experience has really been beneficial for me when guys are going through the same things,” Bivin says. “It’s just the mindset and determination that nothing is going to stop me from doing what I want to do and accomplishing my goals. It’s really that doer mindset of getting things done, that persistence. Having that experience was a big source of humility for me.”

When starting running back Jafar Armstrong went down with an abdominal tear in the season opener at Louisville, Bivin sat with him and helped him process the latest setback in a disjointed career.

“I literally just told that same story to Jafar Armstrong this past week,” Bivin says. “With the injuries he’s going through and having big expectations, he’s still going to have a chance to do it, but it’s something where people struggle.”

It was Powlus who helped launch the “4for40: Excellence BeyoND” player development program that has become a frequent refrain on the recruiting trail for Notre Dame coaches.

Simply put, the idea is a four-year commitment to Brian Kelly’s program will set up a student-athlete for a 40-year run of success in life after football.

As he handed the keys to Bivin, Powlus challenged his replacement to devise a similar idea that might expand his department’s reach. After a period of introspection, Bivin came up with the GOLD Standard, an acronym that stands for Growth, Opportunity and Life Development.

“There’s a lot of programs that win a lot of games, a lot of programs that make really good grades, but not a lot of programs that have the respect and aura that Notre Dame does,” Bivin says. “That’s really what the GOLD Standard is: a representation of our players’ lives as they embark on that really unique journey to success.”

Kelly has been impressed with Bivin’s work, which has included the fast-tracking of a record 10 January enrollees in the 2019 recruiting class. Bivin even moderated roundtable discussions with several freshmen, including reigning IndyStar Mr. Football Jack Kiser, that aired on the school’s athletics website and social-media outlets.

In his new role, Bivin serves as a liaison between the coaching staff, the academic-performance staff, faculty advisers and more than 100 football players, including walk-ons. He even worships alongside the players.

In addition to the team Mass every Friday, there’s a non-denominational fellowship on Thursday nights organized by assistant strength coach David Grimes. Close to 40 players have been attending the latter gathering, which includes Bible study and an open forum for players to discuss their faith and anything they might be struggling with.

“I can’t tell you how pleased I’ve been with his work,” Kelly said. “It’s an extremely important position because it has direct contact on a day-to-day basis with very important things that help in that day-to-day lifestyle of the student-athlete: from ‘Where do I pick up my stipend check?’ to ‘I don’t know where to go for this particular class.’ All those things.”

BIG BROTHER

The fact Bivin played so recently for Kelly’s program largely helps him connect with the current roster, especially when it comes to former teammates.

“Hunter has a great sense of Notre Dame and has really worked well with our academic support staff,” Kelly says. “He’s seen it on both sides. He knows when a player needs to pick it up a little bit and also knows when they need a little bit of a break. He’s on the frontline with our players.”

Senior defensive end and team captain Khalid Kareem smiled when asked about the sort of conversations he has with Bivin these days.

“Me and Biv have a funny relationship,” Kareem says. “We went against each other a lot in practice. Biv is like a big brother to me, I guess, just someone who holds some position of power who’s been in our shoes before. All those coaches, they played, but he’s like the most recent player so it’s always just comforting knowing another person out there has your back, someone who you fought with, worked out with, bled with.”

Bivin’s personal travails are well known among Notre Dame upperclassmen. They know he lost his father Randy to a heart attack at age 52, when Hunter was just 14.

They know his uncle Stuart Bivin also died of a heart attack at just 36. They saw Bivin fight back from those three surgeries to combat a rare congenital ailment known as Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, in which a rapid heartbeat is caused by an extra electrical pathway between the heart’s upper and lower chambers.

Fewer than 20,000 cases are diagnosed per year in the U.S.

“Being around Biv when he was a player, we always had a lot of respect for him,” Kareem says. “When he got that position, we were really happy for him. The old guys, we try to help him out in any way, talk to the younger guys. When he asks us to do something, we do it right for him because that’s the type of guy he is.”

Safety Alohi Gilman, who rose from Navy transfer to team captain, got to know Bivin as a teammate while sitting out the 2017 season.

“Biv is the man,” Gilman says. “He’s always been a guy honestly for me that everyone’s comfortable with and everyone is eager to learn from because of how genuine he is, because of the experience that he has. He has a unique story as well. He’s a guy that binds us as a group, connects us with the staff up here and as players.”

IMPACTING THE FUTURE

In rolling out the GOLD Standard during the first two weeks of June, after players returned from a three-week break following the spring semester, Bivin organized an informational series of speakers and outings designed to challenge and enlighten.

There was a “career trek” to Chicago that included visits to Wilson Sporting Goods and McDonald’s corporate headquarters, where players got a sense of day-to-day operations.

Laura Schwab, former captain of the women’s tennis team at Notre Dame and now president and CEO of Aston Martin America, returned for a talk and a car show.

James Biddick, who oversees career development for Notre Dame’s student-athletes, conducted 30-minute, 1-on-1 meetings with every member of the football team to discuss potential internships and careers after the cheering stops.

Jessica Payne, an associate professor of psychology at Notre Dame, gave a talk on how sleep and stress influence memory and psychological function.

Former Notre Dame defensive end John Ryan, a 2010 graduate now working as a financial advisor in Cleveland, gave a granular talk on financial literacy, right down to the ins and outs of budgeting and opening credit cards.

Applied Performance Sciences, a group of former Navy SEALS, put the entire roster through high-intensity training on the practice field and then spoke afterward about leadership and accountability.

Former Notre Dame offensive lineman Hunter Bivin (left) speaks with ex-teammate Khalid Kareem in current role as director of player development(Photo: Courtesy Notre Dame/Katie Meyers)

“She did a good job of reaching us, a group of young men who are in a position here as football players at Notre Dame, and inspiring us to be change in the world,” says Chris Finke, a graduate wide receiver and team captain. “She was saying, if there’s something on campus going on, people should know if the football team is there it’s all good, things are going to go well, everybody’s safe.”

That 90-minute talk marked the 30th Power 5 program Tracy had visited, but it was her first time in South Bend. She credited Bivin with extending the invitation and praised the attentiveness of the group.

“I think the guys kept the message with them,” Finke says. “Putting that responsibility on your shoulders and realizing we have that kind of impact and influence on the student body and hopefully, as we go forward, just on the world in general.”

CONSTANT PRESENCE

As with the rest of the two-week program, Bivin could not have asked for more from Tracy’s talk.

“She was unbelievable,” he says. “One of the most moving speeches I’ve ever heard. Our guys were absolutely floored by her.”

The three pillars of the GOLD Standard program that Bivin devised are identity, purpose and impact. The experiences of those first two weeks in June should go a long way toward establishing the desired foundation.

Kelly and Powlus had to sign off on Bivin’s suggested agenda, and the first-year director was relieved when he got everything he requested.

“I had a blueprint of how I wanted it to look,” Bivin says. “It was my first time doing it, and I put it in front of Ron. I asked Ron, ‘What do you think? Anything I’m missing?’ He said, ‘No, this is great.’ He was very supportive. Ron has been an unbelievable mentor for me in getting started in this professional setting.”

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“Hunter has a pretty good rapport with the guys,” Finke says. “He’s comfortable just going directly to people, and people are pretty receptive of what he’s got. He’s been through it. He knows what it takes. And after being done with it, I think he’s probably got a different perspective on it than people who are in the midst of it. He’s definitely not afraid to throw his opinion in there.”

As much as Bivin wishes his own football career had turned out better, he takes great solace in his ability to help guide the hopes and dreams of the latest generation of Notre Dame football players. When they succeed, he succeeds.

Even when they fail, his failures of the recent past might help them navigate the choppy waters ahead.

"I’ve always been a diehard Notre Dame guy," Bivin says. "Notre Dame’s my home. It’s who I am. I’m the man I am today because of those struggles and times of adversity I overcame. Notre Dame provided me the opportunity to overcome them on my own. They just can’t really get rid of me.”